The other day I mentioned the $50,000 search for a game-winning hockey puck another game winner has sold recently for a high price. The "Jo'bulani ball," the gold-decorated Jabulani soccer ball used in the final World Cup match between Spain and the Netherlands sold on eBay for £48,200 (approximately $73,368). The auction raised money for 46664, Nelson Mandela's HIV/Aids education and prevention campaign.

The Jabulani has been a source of controversy. Adidas created the World Cup ball's "radical grip 'n' groove" technology which was supposed to provide stable flight and a perfect grip has been criticized by some players.

A total of 133 bids from 55 participants came in for the ball. It eventually went to a group of Spanish fans.

Usually I hear about Donald Trump being sued but this time he's going on the offensive in Palm Beach. He has filed a lawsuit suing Palm Beach County over the planned expansion at Palm Beach International Airport. Trump doesn't want the airport to have a second commercial runway and filed suit to block the proposal. Why is Trump against the airport? The flight path would take planes over Trump's Palm Beach Mar-a-Lago estate.

"They are wanting to spend, by the time they finish, over $1 billion to add a runway that's totally unnecessary," Trump told local station WPBF 25 News in a telephone interview. "In order to add the runway, they have to rip down hundreds of millions of dollars in buildings that have just been built where they store the airplanes and offices." Trump says the runway is unnecessary because there is less air traffic and that there is already another runway that could be expanded.

Trump also wants former airport director Bruce Pelly to pay damages caused by jets flying over Trump's home. Trump had previously filed a lawsuit in 1995 saying that noise and exhaust from the jets caused damage to the home. That suit was settled with a deal that had the country agreeing to keep noise levels from rising in the future. As part of the deal, Trump built a luxury golf course on county land that the county agreed to lease to Trump.

Luscious and smooth, the Faithful De-Manta Leather Tote from Alexander McQueen is a stunner. Did he name this bag after it's manta ray-esque shape? No matter -- it is a standout in a crowd featuring nude leather, two top leather handles, gold-tone hardware, and simple stitched embellishments in the corners. Completing the picture is a zipper closure along the top, magnetic disks hidden within to create the signature fold-over top corners, leather feet at the base and a fully lined interior with a zipped pocket. Classic yet unique, timeless and a fit for any season it is a must-have for $1,165. (19" x 16" x 6" with 6" handle drop)

The long, hot days of summer are upon us. It's a time of garden parties and drinking on the patio, and fresh cocktails with good gin. G'Vine Nouaison is a new contender for you to consider -- a lovely, aromatic gin with a strong character infused with the rare Ugni Blanc vine flower.

This beautifully botanical-rich gin is made in small batches in France's Cognac region and has just begun US distribution. You may recognize the name from the other G'Vine gin, Floraison. The difference between Floraison and Nouaison is that Nouaison has stronger notes of juniper and nutmeg, focusing less on the voluptuous flavor of the vine flower and more on intensifying the herbal spiciness of the gin.

The concentrated spices of Nouaison are intended to encapsulate the spirit of the Ugni Blanc grape berry as it first "sets" on the vine flower, a phase in growing known as -- what else -- "nouaison."

You'll find that, especially in contrast to other gins, 43.9% ABV G'Vine Nouaison comes through elegantly in fruity cocktails and stands up boldly to any tonic. The grape base and infusion of the vine flower give G'Vine a definitive taste one could pick out from a crowd. G'Vine Nouaison retails for $34.00 for 750 mL.

I wish my clothes felt this protective. Booq's new Taipan Spacesuit XS iPad sleeve style case is a seriously nice sleeve to protect your "precious." An iPad never felt this nice. It is a good mix between protection and portability though. Probably as good as you get can get without going to a hard case solution. The Taipan Spacesuit XS features a 3mm thick neoprene shell that is water resistant against light spills and liquid drops, and can absorb a good deal of abuse. The exterior comes in a few colors (berry, silver, and black), and has a nice sheen as well as texture. It feels very soft on the skin. Like all Booq products (the Mercedes of bags and cases for the tech crowd), it has a very good zipper with double zipper pulls. The zipper pulls are even cushioned to ensure that if they brush against your iPad or other things, the zippers won't scratch them.

Inside the case is a silky soft plush interior that reassuringly feels as though it wont damage or scratch your iPad in any way - no matter how many times you put it in, and take it out. In the scheme of iPad cases, the Booq Taipan Spacesuit XS is pretty nice. While no sleeve type iPad case seems to have this feature, why doesn't anyone add a strap or something? Only complaint I have is that the zipper ends bulge just a little bit that disturbs the streamlined shape, but that is minor if anything. Price is $29.95, and you can get it online at Booq's website or other Booq retailers.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Thanks to Booq for the review unit. Opinions are 100% independent.

Last summer, Scottish whisky distillery Auchentoshan held a grand festival that drew some 2,600 malt aficionados and connoisseurs from near and far. This year the festival is marking its return as an annual event, featuring whisky tastings, live music and cooking classes.

Specially for the event, the distillery has released a limited edition single malt, a 12-year-old bottling from 1998, matured in Sherry casks and bottled at cask strength. Only 200 bottles will be offered at £50 apiece, each individually numbered and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by head distiller Jeremy Stephens. Visitors will also have the opportunity to bottle their own directly from a specially selected cask.

How does JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon live? Quite well, thank you very much. We first checked out his home on Chicago's Gold Coast last year but a new listing offers a deeper look at Dimon's well-decorated environs. His eight-bedroom home was built in 1870 but has been lavishly adapted for the modern executive. The home is spread out over four stories and includes a 900-square-foot rooftop terrace outfitted with ample seating in both sun and shade. There is a second floor master suite, wine vault, an elegant gold and eggplant media room and gym decorated with sports memorabilia and crowned with a starry dome.

Dimon has been the CEO and president of JP Morgan since 2005 and has been an integral part of overseeing the $25 billion in TARP funds that JPMorgan Chase received. He hasn't lived in the Gold Coast home since 2004. He bought the home in 2000 for $4.68 million and originally put it on the market several years ago for $13.5 million. It was at $10.5 million when we checked it out last year but had a price cut earlier this year to $9.5 million. The only property listed for more in the area is Bill Wrigley Jr.'s raw penthouse space.


How does JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon live? Quite well, thank you very much. We first checked out his home on Chicago's Gold Coast last year but a new listing offers a deeper look at Dimon's well-decorated environs. His eight-bedroom home was built in 1870 but has been lavishly adapted for the modern executive. The home is spread out over four stories and includes a 900-square-foot rooftop terrace outfitted

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Audemars Piguet is the new official timekeeper of the classic car race series, Tour Auto. The popular race among vintage car enthusiasts takes their rides on a scenic route in France before reaching the finish line. In addition to being the official timekeeper for the event, luxury Swiss watch maker Audemars Piguet will also offer a limited edition watch in honor of the event. It will be the Royal Oak Offshore Tour Auto 2010 Chronograph watch. Set in the standard Royal Oak Offshore case, the racing flat inspired dial has a great look. Tone of slate, white, silver, and red mix to together with visual elements that are all about speed. Note the little checkered flag pattern near the top right part of the tachymeter scale.

In a 42mm wide steel case, the back of the watch has a specially engraved design for the Tour Auto 2010 event. Inside the watch is a Audemars Piguet in-house made caliber 2363/2840 automatic movement, that has been beautifully hand decorated. The strap is leather with a perforated exterior. A nice luxury watch for fans of the event.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com

Earlier this month we reported that famed fashion photographer Mario Testino is selling a series of life-size Kate Moss portraits at an exhibition held at Phillips de Pury & Co' s London branch. If you can't afford one of the $75,000 photos you might have $500 for a limited edition book by Testino dedicated to his favorite muse this fall. Kate Moss by Mario Testino, limited to just 1,500 numbered and signed copies from Taschen priced at $500 apiece, follows the iconic supermodel from early days backstage at the fashion shows, to behind-the-scenes glimpses of the ground-breaking editorials she and Testino continue to produce for the world's most respected magazines. Many of the photographs have been chosen from Testino's private archive and are published here for the first time. "Mario took me to a new level of glamour," Moss notes in the introduction. "I don't think anybody had seen me as any kind of sexy model before he did. He was the one that transformed me. Before him I was just a grungy girl, but he saw me differently.... He changed the way people thought about me as a model, for sure."

[via JustLuxe]

It may be goodbye to Norma Jean, but the candle in the wind burns on -- and on and on -- for Marilyn Monroe. If it's not enough that the house she died in is being marketed with that as one of its selling features, now there's also a "Color Me Marilyn" coloring book that will undoubtedly appeal to the coffee tables of Monroe's ever-lasting following.

The coloring book, which had its own display at the California Gift Show, is illustrated by Hollywood's Emanuel Emanuele. Emanuele is a lifelong Marilyn fan who created many Marilyn wall murals featured in magazines around the country. The book has 64 black-and-white line drawings of Marilyn that fans can color and in doing so, "bring her to life." Well, why not? The drawings and captions capture the most memorable moments of Hollywood's all-time favorite Golden Girl -- including Marilyn at film premieres, posing with friends and beaus, singing "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy and countless of her famous film scenes. Emanuele's specialty is drawing Hollywood icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood and he may have hit pay dirt with this beauty.

The book is available online and in bookstores and retails for $12.95.

The house, well that will cost you more. The Brentwood home where Monroe died of a drug overdose came on the market for $3,595,000. She purchased the home the four-bedroom house about six months before her death on Aug. 4, 1962. She was 36 and this was the only home she ever owned, although many homes in Los Angeles stake a "Marilyn Monroe slept here" claim. The 1929 hacienda-style home, unremarkable in many ways, does have kidney-shaped pool and tiles embedded in the front stoop inscribed with the Latin phrase "Cursum Perficio" which means "I have completed my journey." Not so long as you have fans, dear Marilyn, not so long as you have fans.